RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of affective temperaments between clinically unaffected relatives of bipolar patients and secondarily to investigate the impact of these "subaffective" forms on their quality of life (QoL). METHODS: The study was performed in seven sites across Argentina. We administered the scales TEMPS-A and Quality of Life Index to a sample of 114 non-ill first degree relatives of bipolar disorder patients ("cases") and 115 comparison subjects without family history of affective illness ("controls"). We used The Mood Disorder Questionnaire to rule out clinical bipolarity. RESULTS: Mean scores on all TEMPS-A subscales were significantly higher in cases, except for hyperthymia. The prevalence of affective temperaments, according to Argentinean cut-off points, was also higher, with statistical significance for cyclothymic and anxious temperaments. Regarding QoL, we found no significant differences between both groups, except for interpersonal functioning, which was better in controls. A detailed subanalysis showed significant effects of QoL domains for all temperaments, except for the hyperthymic. LIMITATIONS: We used self-report measures. A larger sample size would have provided us greater statistical power for certain analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the concept of a spectrum of subthreshold affective traits or temperaments - especially for the cyclothymic and anxious - in bipolar pedigrees. We further demonstrated that, except for the hyperthymic, quality of life was affected by these temperaments in "clinically well" relatives. Overall, our data are compatible with the "endophenotype" and "subaffective" theses for affective temperaments.
Asunto(s)
Trastorno Bipolar/genética , Trastornos del Humor/genética , Fenotipo , Escalas de Valoración Psiquiátrica/estadística & datos numéricos , Temperamento , Adulto , Trastornos de Ansiedad/epidemiología , Trastornos de Ansiedad/genética , Trastornos de Ansiedad/psicología , Argentina , Trastorno Bipolar/epidemiología , Trastorno Bipolar/psicología , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Estudios Transversales , Trastorno Ciclotímico/diagnóstico , Trastorno Ciclotímico/epidemiología , Trastorno Ciclotímico/genética , Trastorno Distímico/epidemiología , Trastorno Distímico/genética , Trastorno Distímico/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Relaciones Interpersonales , Genio Irritable , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Trastornos del Humor/epidemiología , Trastornos del Humor/psicología , Calidad de Vida/psicología , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
Investigators of independent studies reported alterations in cytokine serum levels in patients with different mood disorders. Several polymorphisms associated with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease have been reported at the interleukin-1 (IL-1) panel. Here we report the results of three specific polymorphisms at the IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-1RA genes, which were analyzed in 128 Brazilian subjects: 59 dysthymic patients and 69 normal controls. We found a statistically significant difference (p = 0.002) in the frequency of haplotypes with alleles 2+ (IL-1RA), T+ (IL-1alpha), and C+ (IL-1beta) in patients as compared to controls. We also observed that haplotype IL-1RA1.2/IL-1alpha CT/IL-1beta CC, present in 6 dysthymic patients (10%) was absent in the normal control group (p = 0.012). These results suggest that these polymorphisms might confer a greater susceptibility to develop dysthymia in Brazilian patients. However, to validate these data it will be of great interest to repeat this study in larger samples and other ethnic groups.